April 2009 • Number 2
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Volume 42 • April 2009 • Number 2 42 • Volume in this issue: Editor’s Notes 1 The Gift of Assurance: The Spirit of Christ and Assurance of Salvation 3 David J. Engelsma Survey of Southern Presbyterian History (2) 47 Eugene Case H i s t o r i c a l I n t r o d u c t i o n t o G u i d o d e B r è s ’ Letter to King Philip II of Spain 77 Russell J. Dykstra Guido deBrès’ Letter to Philip II of Spain, Appended to the Belgic Confession 80 P R O T E S T A N T R E F O R M E D translated by Marvin Kamps T H E O L O G I C A L Process Theology: Philosophical Idolatry 89 S E M I N A R Y Daniel Holstege Book Reviews 117 4949 Ivanrest Avenue Wyoming, Michigan 49418-9142 ISSN 1070-8138 Volume 42 • April 2009 • Number 2 PROTESTANT REFORMED Book Reviews THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL 117 Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 4: Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation 125 Dennison, James T. Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in English Translation: Vol. I, Published twice annually by the faculty of the Protestant Re- 1523-1552 formed Theological Seminary: 127 Dennison, James T. The Letters of Geerhardus Vos 137 Hall, David W. and Lillback, Peter A. Theological Ronald L. Cammenga, Editor ([email protected]) Guide to Calvin’s Institutes: Essays and Analysis Russell J. Dykstra, Book Review Editor ([email protected]) 143 Hyde, Daniel R. With Heart and Mouth: An Exposition Barrett L. Gritters ([email protected]) of the Belgic Confession 146 Mortenson, Terry and Ury, Thane H. Coming to Grips with Genesis: Biblical Authority and the Age of the Earth 149 Smith, Gordon T. The Lord’s Supper: Five Views 154 Taylor, Paul F. The Six Days of Genesis: A Scientific Appreciation of Chapters 1-11 The Protestant Reformed Theological Journal is published by the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary twice each year, in April and November, and mailed to subscribers free of charge. Those who wish to receive the Journal should write the editor, at the seminary address. Those who wish to reprint an article appearing in the Journal should secure the permission of the editor. Books for review should be sent to the book review editor, also at the address of the school. Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary 4949 Ivanrest Avenue Wyoming, MI 49418 USA Editor’s Notes You have in hand the April 2009 issue of the Protestant Reformed Theological Journal. This is the second and last issue of volume 42—the number of years PRTJ has been published without interrup- tion by the faculty of the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary. We trust that you will find the articles that are included in this issue informative, edifying, and God-glorifying. Prof. David J. Engelsma, emeritus professor of Dogmatics and Old Testament at PRTS, contributes a timely article on the issue of assurance, “The Gift of Assurance: The Spirit of Christ and Assur- ance of Salvation.” The article contains an explanation and defense of the biblical, Reformed doctrine of assurance. It is also polemical, taking aim particularly at the perverted doctrine of assurance taught by many of the Puritans and the leaders of the Nadere Reformatie, as well as promoted by certain contemporary theologians and churches. We thank our colleague for his very worthwhile piece. This issue also contains the second installment of the first speech presented by the Rev. Eugene Case to the faculty and student body of PRTS in April 2008 on the history and distinctives of Southern Pres- byterianism. In this article Rev. Case continues to trace the history, including the sad decline, of the Southern Presbyterian Church from the beginning of the nineteenth century, through the Civil War, down to the present. But the article is far more than a factual recounting. It is an insightful and critical evaluation of the history, with powerful application to the contemporary church scene. Included in this issue as well is a translation of Guido de Brès’ dedicatory letter to King Philip II of Spain. Mr. Marvin Kamps is the translator. This is a moving piece that has not been widely available in English in the past. The translation is from the original Dutch, with comparison to the French. The translation is preceded by a historical introduction, written by Prof. Russell Dykstra, that sets the dedicatory letter in the context of de Brès life and the struggles of the Reformed churches in the Lowlands at the time that the Belgic Confession of Faith was written. Protestant Reformed Theological Journal Since its beginning, PRTJ has published from time to time papers produced by the seminary students of PRTS. In this issue our readers will find a paper written by third-year seminarian Daniel Holstege. The paper introduces and analyzes critically the powerful movement known as Process Theology. The roots, development, influential proponents, and main tenets of the movement are identified. And the movement is evaluated in the light of Scripture and the Reformed confessions. As always, a number of book reviews make up the last section of this issue of the Journal. The books are significant recent releases, the contents of which are carefully evaluated by our reviewers. A num- ber of our readers have expressed appreciation for the book reviews contained in recent issues, and we trust that these reviews will also prove worthwhile. Ministers, seminary students, and laymen alike will undoubtedly want to purchase a number of these books for their own libraries. Once again, I want to call the attention of our readers to the Calvin Conference that PRTS is planning for the first week in September of this year. The conference theme is: “After 500 Years: John Calvin for Reformed Churches Today.” Take note of the advertisement at the end of this issue, which details the several speeches that are planned. We are excited for the conference and look forward to seeing many of you at the conference. If you have any questions concerning the conference, you can call the seminary or consult the website that has been set up at: 500yearsofcalvin.com. Read and enjoy! Soli Deo Gloria! —RLC. 2 Vol. 42, No. 2 Gift of Assurance The Gift of Assurance: The Spirit of Christ and Assurance of Salvation David J. Engelsma Introduction The Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Jesus Christ causes the believing child of God to know his own salvation with certainty. The Spirit gives assurance of salvation. This is an especially vital and precious work of the Spirit. Assurance is an especially vital and important work of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. When in John 14-17 He promised the Holy Spirit to His church, Jesus called this Spirit the “Comforter”: “The Father… shall give you another Comforter” (John 14:16). As the other Com- forter of the church and of the individual member of the church, the Spirit comforts us with the assurance that our sins are forgiven; with the assurance that we have been given by the Father to Jesus Christ as His people; with the assurance that we are united to Christ in the covenant of grace; and with the assurance that one day we will be with Christ where He is in heaven. In short, the Spirit comforts us that we were saved from eternity past, are saved now, and will be saved everlastingly. Lacking this assurance, we are not comforted, but are terribly uncomfortable, indeed, terrified. Failing to give this assurance, the Spirit is no Comforter at all. Indicating how important the assurance of His people by the other Comforter was to Jesus, when He said farewell Jesus declared, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you…. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Peace is the experi- ence of being reconciled to God, of being in a relation of friendship with God on the basis of the forgiveness of sins. And this peace for each of us is assurance that God is my friend and Father for Jesus’ sake. There is no peace for anyone, if he lacks assurance of his own April 2009 3 Protestant Reformed Theological Journal salvation, but only terror. Of course, this peace is due to the work of the Comforter within us assuring us of God’s love for us, Christ’s death for us, and our own personal salvation. Assurance is especially vital and precious to us ourselves. Without assurance, our heart is very much troubled and afraid. Doubt of salva- tion is the worst fear of all the fears to which humans are liable. Assurance of salvation is an aspect of salvation itself. God wills, not only that we be saved, but also that we know that we are saved. Then, and only then, do we enjoy salvation. Then, and only then, can we praise and thank Him, so that He is glorified by us, which is the ultimate purpose of salvation. One who lacks assurance cannot thank, praise, and glorify God. Salvation itself is experiential, involving our conscious certainty of salvation, for example, justification, the chief benefit of salvation. Justification is not simply the forgiveness of sins. Justification is the forgiveness in the forum of the believer’s consciousness, as the Prot- estant Reformation has taught us. What good is salvation to me, if I do not know it, if I live in doubt of it? What good is the Comforter to me, if I cannot confess, truthfully, concerning myself personally, what the Heidelberg Catechism puts on the lips of every man, woman, and child who believes the gospel of Jesus Christ from the heart in its first question and answer: [My only comfort in life and death is] that I…belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must work together for my salvation.1 1 Heidelberg Catechism, Q.